Goodbye to Normality
by theStrawberryFairy
Summary: EDITED Sequel to 'Welcome to The Mad House' set 5 years after, Mai and Naru are still together and are in fact engaged. However things are going to get interesting with the arival of some unexpected visitors and some cases and some news
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Notes**: Hello and welcome to the sequel of 'Welcome to The Mad House' myself [TheStrawberryFairy] and ClippedNinja hope you both enjoy this story! As mentioned in the snippet this is set 5 years after the first story. Hope that clears up a few things

**Disclaimers:** we own nothing other than our own characters!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

It was cold, the ground was covered in a soft blanket of untouched, glistening snow as Mai climbed up the steps to Shibuya cemetery carrying a large bouquet of flowers. Coming to a stop on the steps she turned down a path that was well lined by snow covered graves that were surrounded by either bunches of flowers and other offerings from loving relatives.

Mai came to a stop in front of two graves and smiled down at them as she knelt in front of them, her knees resting in the snow. Raising a hand she wiped the snow off the front of both of them and set the flowers in front of them.

"Hey Mum, hey Dad it's me I'm sorry I haven't been up to see you for a while, a lot has happened lately" she said softly looking down at her hands where she played with the gold band around her left ring finger, the small diamond shining slightly. "Naru proposed to me, I was so happy I instantly said yes, that boosted his ego a bit as I'm sure you can imagine." She laughed slightly before pausing for a moment and sighed "I wish you could both be there at my wedding but I know deep down that you will be."

She stopped talking for a little while, deep in thought before she laughed nervously. "I must say that I had an ulterior motive for coming here today, I did infact come to tell you something… I've been feeling strange for a little while now, so Naru finally forced me to make a doctor's appointment a few weeks ago, I got the results back a few days after and it shocked me a little bit." She paused not knowing how to continue "It seems I-I'm-"

"Mai, here you are." A familiar voice called from behind her causing her to jump and turn around to see Naru standing behind her. "We were supposed to meet up in the town centre 10 minutes ago." He told her which made her gasp and look down at her wrist watch quickly.

"You're right! I'm sorry, I lost track of time" she replied standing up and going over to him giving him a quick kiss on the lips before turning back to the graves and gave a bow to her parents. "I'll see you soon mum and dad"

Standing up she noticed Naru was also bowing respectfully which made her smile as they began to walk away from the graves and back towards the stairs.

"What did you say to them?" Naru asked after a little while, which caused her to stop for a moment in panic before she started walking with him down the stairs.

"Nothing….important…what makes you ask?" she asked descending a step, watching Naru closely as he remained facing forwards.

"You've been acting very strange lately Mai." He replied simply glancing at her from the corner of his eye as she looked away blushing softly.

"R-really?" she answered quietly biting her bottom lip. Taking another step she felt herself go light as her foot left the pavement having hit a patch of ice. She closed her eyes as she began to fall only to snap them open again when she was stopped mid-fall. Gulping slightly she looked behind her where she saw Naru holding her around her waist preventing her from going any further.

"N-Naru….Thank you!" she gasped out as he brought her back on the step gently where she turned and engulfed him in a hug.

"You need to be less clumsy" he chuckled and waited for her to yell at him, which he wasn't denied of.

"Hey, it's not my fault the steps are icy!" she yelled at him crossing her arms in front of her chest. "And why are you smirking?" He replied by pulling her closer towards him and placing a kiss on her lips which instantly silenced her.

"Because; you look cute when you're angry." He whispered in her ear, which of course lead to her blushing madly at his words, a shiver running down her spine.

"W-we should probably get going, the office is already open." She stuttered pulling away from his hold where he smiled and took her hand as they continued to walk to the office.

When they reached the office they were greeted by a lot of noise, which seemed to amplify when Naru opened the door. Inside; the room was filled with laughter and Christmas Music as the whole of S.P.R put up Christmas decorations around the office. Yasuhara and Bou were busy putting up the Christmas tree while Ayako put the decorations on. Masako sat on the couch flipping through magazines while John and Madoka rummaged through boxes. Lin meanwhile was sitting at Mai's desk typing away on the computer.

A 5 year old boy appeared around the corner, a toy airplane in his hand as he ran around making plane noises; his arms rose in the style of wings. He stopped when he saw Mai and Naru standing in the door way and yelled in excitement before zooming over to them.

"Mai, Mai, Mai!" he chanted as he threw himself at Mai, who laughed slightly before engulfing the little boy in a hug.

"Hey Daichi, wow haven't you gotten to be a big boy!" she exclaimed before letting the little boy go who grinned at her with pride.

"I'm 5 now!" he replied proudly pointing to himself.

"Mai knows Daichi, she was there on your birthday remember." Ayako laughed as she walked over to Mai and gave her a hug. "It's great to see you Mai."

Daichi went to Naru and apprehensively tugged his jacket. Naru looked down at the little boy before kneeling down. "Happy Christmas Mr. Naru" Daichi said quietly.

Naru paused for a moment before he gave a small smile and lifted a hand to ruffle the kid's hair. "You too kiddo." He said softly to which Daichi grinned at him before zooming off around the office again.

"Well now, don't just lurk in the doorway come one in and help with the decorating!" Bou yelled walking over, patting Naru on the shoulder to which Naru sent him a glare that said 'don't push it'.

"Fine," Naru sighed taking off his coat and placing it on the coat rack, before taking Mai's off her.

"Wow, did 'The' Naru just agree to help us?" Yasuhara yelled from beside the Christmas tree.

"I know, I thought I was hearing things as well!" Madoka laughed as she walked over to Lin, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Very funny." Naru replied darkly as he walked over to the boxes beside John. Everyone paused for a moment before laughter broke out amongst them and soon everyone was laughing, even Lin smirked slightly but said nothing.

Mai sighed as she watched everyone go back to what they were doing. "I'll make some tea!" she announced walking towards the kitchen, where she was greeted by the sounds of varies replies of 'Yes please!' or in Daichi's case 'Can I have some juice please!' Mai grinned at the replies before she gave a nod and entered the kitchen.

Mai got out 9 cups and a plastic cup from the cupboard and set them on the table before she went over the fill the kettle up. Placing it on the hob she began preparing the tea pot, sugar dish and milk jug. The kettle had just started boiling when she heard someone enter the kitchen.

"Mai." They called which caused Mai to look quickly around and see Masako standing behind her.

"Ah, Masako I was just about to bring the tea out." Mai replied as she poured the water from the kettle into the tea pot.

"I need to talk to you about something." Masako replied watching Mai's movements.

"Oh? What's the matter?" Mai replied taking a tray out of the cupboard bellow her which she placed on the counter and began placing the cups, and pots on top of.

"I know that you're hiding something Mai….And I know what it is." Masako stated and watched as Mai stopped what she was doing then slowly turned around to face her.

"How?" She simply asked shock evident in her face.

"I sensed it, in fact I've been sensing something was different about you for a while now I'm just wondering how it is Naru hasn't sensed anything?" Masako asked which caused Mai to quickly look around Masako to make sure no one could hear; seeing that everyone was laughing and larking around with each other, she knew they were safe.

"I've been hiding it from him." She sighed looking away from Masako.

"Why, this will affect him just as much as it will affect you, why haven't you told him." Masako asked moving closer to Mai

"Because...I'm worried about how he will react…" Mai explained quietly which caused Masako to smile softly at her.

"I can guarantee that he will not be mad with you, he loves you too much for that…as much as it pains me to say." She told Mai. "You need to tell him Mai, it's only fair."

Masako placed a hand on Mai's shoulder before she walked out of the room, surprisingly carrying the jug of Milk. Mai watched her go with a small smile, her brain absorbing her words while her mind thought of ways to tell him.

Whatever way it wouldn't be easy…

* * *

**Strawberry:** There we go chapter one is done!

**Clipped:** Yay! We got it done on time!

**Strawberry:** Yep Yep! And everyone can expect another chapter tomorrow on CHRISTMAS!

**Clipped: **wow this is going quickly….Anyway please read and review!

**Strawberry:** we'll love you for it!

Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors comments:**

**StrawberryFairy: **welll this was the first chapter to be edited, we hope its ok, and we're sorry that we now only have 3 chapters instead of 4 -bows-

**ClippedNinja:** Yes, we're really sorry, but we decided that this was becoming a little long winded and that its not fair on you all, so we decided to cut and mix chapters 2 and 3 together sorry and we hope you like reading the edited chapter!

**Disclaimer:** we don't own anything other than our own characters!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

It was much later when everyone had left. Infact the clock had only just struck 8pm when Ayako and Bou left; carrying a fast asleep Daichi out the office, bidding Naru, Mai, Madoka and Lin a happy Christmas Eve before closing the door behind them.

"Well that was entertaining." Mai laughed as she and Naru put the last of the boxes away.

"More like annoying, we didn't get any work done today." He replied which caused her too sigh.

"It's Christmas eve Naru, I think we're all entitled to a day or two off." She smiled at him as she placed a hand on his shoulder to which he turned around and pulled her towards him where he kissed her.

It didn't last long as a cough sounded from the other side of the office along with a giggle. Looking up they saw Lin and Madoka watching them.

"We're going to head home now." Lin announced as he went to retrieve both his and Madoka's coat.

"Good night Lin, Madoka" Naru answered with a nod.

"Merry Christmas" Mai added as the two walked towards the door.

"Same to you, Mai!" Madoka smiled as Lin opened the door for her.

After they left, the room went oddly quiet as an awkward silence filled the room.

"Mai, do you want to come back to mine?" Naru asked after a little while. Mai stared at him at and the suddenness of his words, but found she was nodding in reply to which Naru smiled slightly. "Come on then, let's go."

Back at their apartment after they had dinner, Mai walked out of the kitchen holding a tray with two cups of tea positioned on top. The living room was quite dark aside from the amber hue from the flames dancing in the fire place that seemed to paint pictures on the items opposite it. One of them being Naru, who was sitting in the arm chair his attention transfixed on the book he was holding.

Shakily carrying the tray over to him she sat it on the coffee table, missing the side glance she received from him before he returned to his book.

"How are you reading that in this light?" She asked which caused him to smirk and chuckle slightly.

"I've read it before." He replied shutting the book and placing it on the arm of the chair and watched Mai closely as she began to pour the tea into mugs, her hands shaking slightly.

"Mai," Naru asked with a sigh which caused her to stop pouring and look up to him. "Is there something bothering you?"

Mai paused at this, staring at the tea pot wondering how to continue. She sat the pot down on the table again and went over to the sofa that sat next to Naru's arm chair.

"I need to talk to you, I've been meaning to for a little while now it's just…."she glanced up to him as she drifted off, he gave her a look encouraging her to continue and after taking a deep breath she did. "I was scared about how you would react." Her voice came out quietly but looking at him she knew he had heard her.

"What is it?" he asked his concern growing as he got up from the chair and moved next to her on the sofa. Mai took a deep breath and placed her hand on his.

"When I went to the doctors, they did a blood test and I got the results back a few weeks ago, everything was normal except that I'm…" she lost her confidence and looked away biting her lip.

"You're what? You're not sick are you?" Naru asked suddenly feeling worried.

"No." Mai smiled at him "it's nothing like that, but it will change things between us."

"What do you mean…." He asked quietly standing up a slight line of anger on his features. "Are you saying you want to break up with me Mai?"

"What? NO!" Mai yelled in reply as she stared up at him in shock. "How could you possibly think that Naru?"

"You've been acting very strange around me for a little while now Mai almost like your avoiding talking to me, what else does that lead me to think?" he replied as he walked over the fire place where he stood and leaned against it.

"That maybe I'm trying to tell you something, but I don't know how." Mai replied as she looked down again, where she heard a sigh.

"If you want to tell me something then tell me already!" he yelled at her in exasperation, his back still towards her. Anger filled her senses and she looked up to him and did as he asked.

"I'm pregnant Naru!"

A silence filled the room as the words seemed to echo and rebound of the walls, replaying in both of their minds. Naru stood as still as stone as he took in his fiancé's words before he turned around slowly to see her looking down to the floor, slowing down her breathing. Naru walked over to her and stood close to her.

"Are you positive?" he asked after a moment or two to which he received a nod.

"I asked them to run it again to be certain and it came back the same, I'm pregnant." She replied and found herself almost instantly in his embrace.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked with a smile which grew when she held him in return.

"Because I was worried I guess…"she replied but laughed slightly at having worried for nothing. "I'm sorry."

"Silly" he chuckled letting her go before leaning in and kissing her passionately before they were interrupted by the sound of the clock on the mantle beginning to chime the full Westminster chimes before counting to 12, signalling it was midnight. Mai laughed at this which caused him to frown down at her.

"Merry Christmas Naru." She smiled brightly at him which he returned.

"Merry Christmas Mai." With that he leant in to kiss her again.

As they entered the office later in the morning they were instantly meet again by laughter as the whole gang once again was sat around the lounge area. Hearing the door open they all looked up to see Naru and Mai walk through the doors.

"Merry Christmas!" echoed through the room which caused them both to smile slightly.

"What time do you call this?" Yasuhara asked looking at the clock on the wall that read 10am.

"We slept in as we weren't expecting anyone to be here." Naru replied staring at Yasu who laughed nervously before walking away.

"Merry Christmas Mai!" Daichi's voice called from bellow causing Mai to look down and scoop the little boy up into a hug.

"Merry Christmas, have you had a nice day?" she asked the little boy replied by nodding profusely which caused Mai to laugh and put him back down. "I'll get some drinks."

She began walking towards the kitchen, aware that she was being followed but didn't stop to look around until she was in the kitchen.

"What's the matter Naru?" she asked upon seeing him behind her, he moved forwards and gave her a hug from behind.

"Do they know?" he asked his hands resting on her stomach as indication of what he meant.

"No, only you and Masako." She replied. This caught him off guard and he frowned.

"Masako?" he asked quietly. "how does she know…"

"I sensed it." Masako's voice replied from the doorway. Naru frowned at Masako's words and went to say something to her only to be cut off. "I take it you told him."

"Yes." Mai replied sending the Medium a smile as she continued to serve the drinks.

"Good, then you should know that everyone's waiting for you two so they can start opening presents." Masako replied rolling her eyes which caused Mai to laugh and nod, telling her that they would be right out.

"Let's get out there then" Naru stated with a sigh as he picked the tray of cups off the side and carried it out into the lounge as Mai followed with the tea pot.

"All right, me first!" Bou yelled leaping over to the tree where he was met by a smack from none other than Ayako.

"You idiot, let your son go first!" she yelled, meanwhile Daichi sat and laughed at his parents antics.

"No Mommy, Daddy obviously needs it more than me." He laughed which caused the whole room to do the same, except for Lin and Naru of course but even they smirked.

"Oh really now….we'll see about that!" Bou replied getting up and chasing the little boy, who squealed and ran away laughing hard as his dad chased him.

Everything was going well until the door was swung open and all that was heard was "Ow!" from Bou as he slid down the door, his nose glowing.

"Merry Christmas Everyone." The sound of the voice caused everyone to stop. Naru, Lin and Madoka stared at the door; eyes wide as they watched to people enter the room.

"What are you doing here?" Naru asked after a little while, his voice sounding as shocked as his expression as he watched the western couple enter the room freely.

"Now Oliver, we thought it would be a nice idea to surprise you all with a Christmas Visit!" the lady stated as she walked over to the young man, who was now standing stiffly glaring at the couple, and pulled him into a hug.

"Actually it was your mother's idea; I just went along with it." The man stated as he removed his coat, placing it on the coat rack.

"Nonsense Dear, you were as excited as I was on the plane when we landed." She responded as she let Naru go, albeit reluctantly.

"Luella, Martin what a lovely surprise." Madoka announced, the shock having faded, as she walked towards the couple smiling brightly.

"It's lovely to see you again my dear." Luella replied to the pink haired girl as she pulled her into a hug.

"It's nice to see you all again as well." Martin announced to the rest of the room and it was like someone had pressed the play button. Everyone stood up from their seats and walked over to the newcomers, calling greetings at each other.

Mai stood back and watching with a smile as Naru found himself in another unbreakable hug with his mother. She felt a tug on her skirt and looked down to see Daichi standing next to her, holding onto her skirt. Kneeling down to the child's level she placed a hand on Daichi's back almost as support.

"Mai, who are they?" Daichi asked quietly pointing towards the new comers. It was then it hit Mai that Daichi wasn't old enough to remember the Davies from their last visit; he was after all only a year old at the time.

"That's Uncle Naru's mummy and daddy." She told Daichi who lit up slightly at the prospect.

"And who is this young man?" Luella asked as she walked over to Mai and Daichi. Mai nudged Daichi to introduce himself.

"Daichi Takigawa, miss." He said quietly as he bowed slightly, to which Luella smiled warmly at the young boy.

"My you've gotten big, Martin come here!" Luella called to her husband who was currently talking to Lin.

"What is it dear?" He asked walking over to his wife, apologizing to Lin who simply gave a nod and walked back to his computer.

"You'll never believe who this young man is." Luella gushed indicating to Daichi who was now smiling brightly at the attention.

"My word, is this Bou and Ayako's little lad?" He asked Luella who gave a nod.

Mai took this opportunity to make her way back over to Naru, who was now sitting on the sofa; his eyes closed a look of annoyance on his features.

Looking around the room she noticed everyone had returned to their original activities of course except for Ayako and Bou; who had now walked over to the Davies and were talking, about Daichi Mai suspected. Mai sat down next to Naru and giggled at his expression, which caused him to open an eye and look at her.

"What?" he asked calmly as she continued giggling.

"Just your expression," She replied stopping and smiling at him. He smirked and wrapped an arm around her waist pulling her towards him; where she found herself resting on his chest.

"Right then my dears!" Luella announced suddenly from the front of the room, causing a few of the occupants to jump slightly and face the speaker and her husband. "As its Christmas, Martin and myself have decided to treat you all by taking you to a western restaurant in town, consider it our present to you!"

"Ehh?" the room replied staring at the couple in surprise for the second time that evening.

Before long the gang found their selves standing outside a restaurant that looked like it had been pulled out a movie, the name 'Royal Jubilee' indicating that it was a British restaurant. The group, except Lin, Naru, Madoka, Masako and the Davies, stood in staring in awe at the Ostentatious building.

"Wow…"Mai muttered to which Bou, Ayako, Yasu and John gave a nod in agreement; Daichi just looked up from his mother's arms in confusion.

"Well then let's go inside and eat, I'm starving!" Bou said after a moment or two and lead the small group in. Mai and Naru were the last ones to enter as Naru grabbed Mai's hand and held her back.

"Mai, I think we should tell them tonight….it might get difficult if we don't." he stated and Mai found herself staring at him nervously, thinking over his words; before she gave a sigh.

"Your right…but for now, let's go in before they come looking for us." She replied with a small smile as they walked into the restaurant.

The restaurant itself was very elegantly laid out, the colours gold and white as the theme around the room. The restaurant itself was relatively empty inside except, of course for the large round table in the middle of the room that the SPR team was currently settling into.

"This place is pretty empty…"Yasuhara noted after a little while as he sat next to John, who gave a nod in agreement, and Lin who remained as stoic as ever, even though he was sitting next to Madoka.

"That's because we booked the whole restaurant." Luella said as though it was nothing.

"A-ah….I see." Yasuhara replied slightly taken aback by this.

"Ah there they are what kept you?" Madoka called as Naru and Mai arrived at the table and took the only seats left between Madoka and Luella.

"We were talking about something." Naru merely stated which seemed to instantly grab his mother's attention.

"Oh really do tell!" she exclaimed, turning to them eagerly.

"W-Well erm-" Mai started having glanced at Naru who urged her to tell them.

"Drinks?" A waiter asked as he appeared behind Martin.

"Ah yes thank you" Martin replied before shooting Mai a look of apology.

Mai just smiled at him before looking nervously at Naru who sighed and shrugged as if to say 'it can't be helped'. The group ordered their drinks and started talking amongst themselves as they waited for their drinks.

"I'm not happy with him having that." Ayako told Bou who sighed.

"Ah come on love, its Christmas let him try it." Bou replied to which Ayako sighed in defeat.

"Oh yes! Mai what was it you were going to say?" Luella asked after a moment or two.

"Ah, well I-" Mai was once again cut off by the waiter returning with the drinks.

"Is anyone ready to order?" He asked the group who each gave a nod and told him their orders.

Mai gave a sigh and leaned against the back of the chair her eyes closed, they opened again quickly when Naru grabbed her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze; she looked over to him and smiled.

The small conversations continued again and before long, the inevitable thing happened when you give a 5 year old a fizzy drink.

"Daichi, sit down!" Bou called to his son who was currently running around the restaurant.

"I told you not to give him that fizzy drink!" Ayako yelled at her husband as she watched him chase their 5 year old son around the restaurant.

"Watch out!" a waiter yelled as the boy aimed straight towards him. The waiter moved away to avoid the collision only to trip over the back of a chair leg and smack into Mai's chair as she was taking a sip of her tea. The cup slipped from her hand and the contents landed on her dress.

"Oh God, I am so sorry miss!" the waiter called bowing low besides Mai having seen what happened.

"No, No it was an accident, no harm done." Mai smiled at the waiter as she started to dab her shirt down with some napkins, while Madoka helped her.

"Could you please get us some more napkins?" Madoka asked the waiter who gave a nod and walked away quickly trying to dodge Naru's glare.

"Right young man I think you've had enough coke for a lifetime." Bou announced having caught the young boy who was looking nervously at his angered father, not even daring to look at his mother.

"Sorry about that Mai." Bou said guiltily as he sat Daichi in his chair.

"Its fine, I'm just going to go to the restroom and try to sort this out" Mai replied getting up from her chair and heading towards the restroom. Naru watched her before getting up as well and following her.

Mai sighed leaning against the sink before she filled the white granite sink with warm water before she started to wash as much of the tea out of her shirt as she could. Lifting it up she noticed her stomach was slightly red from the hot tea.

"Did it burn you?" Naru's voice asked from the doorway making her jump and looked over to see him leaning in the door way.

"Naru! You made me jump." She smiled at him then turned to the hand drier that was by the sink and began to try and dry her shirt. She jumped again when two hands wound around her waist from behind before they landed on her stomach where they felt the small bump that was slightly visible. Naru began to wonder why he never noticed it before then shook the thought away when he remembered she hadn't stayed at his house for a few weeks, before the previous night anyway.

"I'm not having much luck am I?" Mai smiled bringing him back to earth.

"We've had a few setbacks." Naru replied after comprehending what she was talking about. "That damn waiter has bad timing."

Mai laughed at this and let her shirt go, straightening the wrinkles out slightly, before turning around to her fiancé and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Maybe we should wait until after dinner?" she suggested.

"Yeah." He smiled at her before pulling her into a kiss. "Let's go back to the table."

Mai gave a nod and they left the rest room and returned back to the table. Not knowing that it'll be even more harder to tell their friends about her pregnancy than she thought.

* * *

And that's the end of Chapter 2 Thanks for reading! Again we're really sorry for suddenly editing it and that you loose a chapter out of it. Thank you for the reviews so far! Please continue to show your support.

StrawberryFairy and ClippedNinja

x


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: **Sorry for the delay School has started for me [StrawberryFairy] again and my teachers are slowly sucking the life out of me with work. We've been speaking regularly to come up with some ideas which we hope you will enjoy thank you all for the reviews and we are glad so many of you are enjoying this series so as a little gift from us to say thank you as well as sorry for the delay we've written a long chapter for you! So enjoy

**Disclaimer: **We own nothing but our own characters!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

It was a week later when SPR reopened. Luella and Martin Davies announced they were going to be in Japan until Easter; much to Naru's dismay of course.

The Calendar on Mai's desk stated it was January 3rd, glancing at it Mai sighed; the last 2 weeks had flown by and she still hadn't managed to tell anyone the news; much to hers and Naru's annoyance. Even though for the last week or so Lin had been acting slightly odd; giving her side glances whenever she walked past him or out of Naru's office, after one of his many calls for tea. Speaking of which; she looked over to the clock on her desk and saw it read 10:59 she sighed to herself again with a small smile and counted down the seconds.

"Mai can I have some tea please?" Naru's voice called from his office just as the clock changed to 11 pm. Mai smiled to herself and got up from her desk and began to walk towards the kitchen; passing by Lin's office she stopped and knocked three times on the closed door.

"Lin would you like a drink?" she asked poking her head around the door to see the tall Chinese man busy typing away at his laptop. He stopped and thought for a moment before he looked over to her and gave a nod.

"Yes please, Coffee would be nice." He stated before going back to his work. Mai gave a smile and a nod before she closed the door and continued towards the kitchen.

Walking back out of the kitchen she went to Lin's office, reshuffled herself so she could knock on the door without dropping anything as she did this the door opened, much to her surprise and she saw Lin walking back to his desk. She entered the room behind him and placed his cup on the desk beside him before she turned to walk out the room.

"Taniyama-san, can I speak to you for a moment please?" Lin asked suddenly causing Mai to stop and look back towards him in surprise, but none the less she gave a nod and moved to shut the door.

"Is everything ok Lin?" Mai asked after a moment or two. Lin turned in his chair and faced her with a sigh.

"Taniyama-san….Mai." He began much to Mai's surprise, Lin having never called her by her first name. "I have known both you and Naru for a few years now and I know when something has changed, and something has definitely changed; what's happened?" He asked which caught Mai slightly off guard.

"Nothing disastrous if that's what you're thinking, Naru and I are still together; we just received some news that has altered things slightly." She stated and looked up at Lin who was watching her intently almost urging her to continue.

"Well it turns out that…I'm pregnant." Mai said slowly almost nervously as she glanced up at Lin who had a shocked look on his face which vanished after a moment or two and was replaced with a small smile.

"I thought it was something along those lines, thank you for telling me Mai, how long have you known for?" He asked after sighing in what seemed like relief.

"Just over 3 months, I found out a few weeks ago but I was too nervous to tell anyone, can you please keep it a secret for now…not everyone knows yet and I think they deserve to be told by me and Naru." She replied with a small Smile.

"I see, well I am happy for you and Naru, congratulations and yes I will keep it a secret." Lin said with an air of finality about the sentence like he didn't need to know any more or that he was content with the information he had been given.

"Thank you Lin, let me know if you need anything…I probably should get this tea to Naru before he dies from lack of caffeine." Mai stated walking back towards the door grabbing the tea tray she had placed on the table along the way. Lin gave a smirk before giving a nod and returning to his laptop and continued to type away as Mai left the room.

"Be careful Mai…." He muttered to himself as he paused from typing for a moment.

Mai closed the door behind her and let out a breath she had been holding onto without realizing. Composing herself she walked over to Naru's Office and gave a knock on the door before entering.

"I was beginning to think you got lost on the way from the kitchen to here." Naru smirked as he watched Mai walk over to his desk, placing the tea cup on the table.

"Sorry, Lin started talking to me when I gave him his coffee." Mai stated with a smile, this surprised Naru and he frowned slightly.

"What did he say?" he asked her, Mai sighed again as she walked around the desk and sat down on the edge of the table.

"He asked what had changed between me and you." She told him and it was his turn to sigh.

"What did you tell him?" Naru asked leaning back in his chair watching her intently.

"I told him that I was pregnant, I'm sorry I know you wanted to tell him together but I felt like I couldn't lie and tell him it was nothing." Mai explained looking down avoiding eye contact with Naru.

She looked up in surprise when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the table onto Naru's lap.

"Its fine, I probably should have told Lin a while ago anyway." Naru stated moving to give her a kiss which she accepted with a smile. They were interrupted by a knock on the front door to the office; they pulled away and Naru sighed in annoyance while Mai laughed slightly.

"I'll go and answer the door," Mai stated reluctantly getting up from her comfortable seat, Naru gave a nod.  
"I'll follow you out in a minute" he told her as she left the room giving a nod as she left.

Mai walked quickly towards the door as the knocking returned, more loudly this time.

"Coming!" She called as she reached the door opening it she revealed an elderly man who was standing nervously to the floor as he wrung his hands. What shocked Mai was the taller lady standing next to him; she was staring down at Mai with a stare that sent shivers down her spine.

"S-sorry for the wait, welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research do you have an appointment?" Mai asked pulling her gaze away from the tall lady.

"Ah um…" the gentleman started only to be cut off by is partner.

"No, we do not however this is a matter of urgency." The lady replied pushing past Mai and entering the office.

"A-ah I see….well please come in I'm Mai Taniyama." Mai stated smiling at the gentleman who was still standing outside the office. He returned the smile and walked quickly into the office.

"Pleased to meet you Miss. Taniyama, I'm Natsuo Shimazaki and this is my assistant Rina Yoshizawa." Natsuo introduced bowing to the younger girl.

"A Pleasure." Rina stated coldly from behind Mai.

"R-right, I'll go and get my boss; please make yourselves comfortable." Mai smiled as she walked over to Naru's office and went inside. Leaning against the door she gave a sigh.

"Naru a Mr Shimazaki is waiting for you." Looking up she saw Naru frowning at her. "He's not on the list, but apparently it's important" Naru gave a nod getting up and grabbing his notebook from the desk, walking past Mai he stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder. They both exited the room together but as Naru went over to the sofa to talk to the customers Mai walked over to Lin's room and knocked on the door.

"Lin we have customers." She called in before continuing her walk to the kitchen.

5 minutes later Mai entered the lounge area with a tray, carefully balancing 5 cups of tea. Setting it down on the table she began to serve it to the guests before Naru and Lin.  
"I don't want any thank you." Rina stated sternly looking up at Mai with a passive face.

"Ok, erm I'll just take this back to the kitchen." Mai replied only to be stopped when she was about to get up.

"I think we've waited long enough, I'm sure it can wait." Rina announced her eyes closed so she missed the glare Naru sent her way.

"All right then, tell us why you require our services." Naru asked Natsuo who quickly swallowed his tea before placing on the coaster.

"Right, well I am the owner of a large mansion on the outskirts of Shibuya, it was handed down to me from my aunt who passed away a few month ago, but you see I have no use for it as it is too large for me and besides myself and my wife have a house which we love and do not want to leave. It was suggested that I should restore the house and open it to the public to show the details and décor…you see no one has lived there for hundreds of years, however ever since the renovations have started, strange things have begun to happen; pictures on the wall are moved or turned upside down, paint has been strewn across the floors and walls, there have also been accounts of children's footsteps and laughter being heard from within the house along with the sighting of an older man walking around the house smirking at the workers." Natsuo explained and watched Naru as he jotted down notes in his notebook.

"I see, these seem like minor problems for which do not need addressing, at the moment I'm not overly interested in this case." Naru stated looking up from his book and watched as Natsuo looked down in resignation at his words while Rina looked up at Naru in annoyance

"You do not understand, this house is being opened to the public in less than two weeks, we cannot afford for anymore children to go missing or we'll be shut down!" Rina exclaimed standing up from the sofa, glaring at Naru and Lin who looked back at her instantly more interested.

"What do you mean missing children?" Mai asked glancing between Natsuo and Rina. Natsuo sighed and looked down sadly.

"My grandchildren like to come and visit the house while I'm working on it, as does a lot of the workers children….sometimes they go missing for hours on end sometimes even days before they show up bruised with their clothes all ripped, when we ask them what happened they say they were playing hide and seek in the house with some children, who no one knows anything about, but they have no memories of why their clothes were ripped or they were bruised." Natsuo explained as he began to wring his hands out again.

"I see, why have you not come here sooner then?" Naru asked after a moment or two, which; to his surprise caused the elderly man to cry.

"My youngest Granddaughter, Eri, has been missing for nearly a week now we've almost given up hope then I found out about your organization and what you can do and we're all hoping that you can find her and stop this madness." Natsuo explained through his tears as he looked up at Naru almost begging him to say yes.

Naru glanced at Lin who was as impassive as ever, then at Mai who was looking at him almost pleading him to take the case.

"I know what you're thinking Mai, and I'm not sure…I don't want anything to happen to you or the baby." Naru stated in English, much to the confusion of Natsuo while Rina remained with her eyes closed.

"I know Naru…but this little girl needs to be found and this does need to stop." Mai replied also in English. Naru sighed and gave a nod, knowing Mai was correct, he knew from the moment Natsuo mentioned children being involved Mai would jump on the chance and wouldn't take no for an answer.

"We'll take the case" Naru announced after a moment's pause and watched as Natsuo's face lit up in delight along with Mai's. "We'll be there tomorrow evening, please leave all the details with Mai and she will tell you what you will need to prepare."

With that Naru and Lin stood up and made their way back to their respective offices and closed the door behind them. Meanwhile Mai walked over to her desk as Natsuo and Rina followed her.

"Thank you so much Miss Taniyama, here is all the information you will be needed I am sure." Natsuo told Mai happily as Rina ripped off a piece of paper from her notepad and handed it over to Mai who glanced over the address and phone numbers.

"Thank you, I'm glad we could be of help; as Naru mentioned we will be needing a few things prepared for tomorrow they include; a large room we can use as a base to set up the equipment and we will need 4 rooms one with a small extra bed as one of our members has a 5 year old son and that should be all." Mai explained with a smile as she also jotted this information down on her note pad and handed it to Natsuo who gave a nod and handed it onto Rina.

"All preparations shall be done by tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock we expect your arrival at 9:30 sharp." Rina announced as she walked over to the door and waited for Natsuo to open the door, which he hurriedly did. Rina walked out and left with not so much as a nod while Natsuo bowed his head slightly and left the room shutting the door behind him.

Mai sighed, folded her arms on top of the table and placed her head on top of her arms. She could honestly say that Rina scared Mai more so than Lin when she first met him. She sat like that for a little while before unwinding one of her arms and placing it on her stomach, which seemed to calm her down slightly.

"Mai." A worried voice suddenly said from above her and she looked up quickly to see Naru standing above her looking down at her worriedly.

"I'm fine I think Miss Yoshizawa scared me more than I realized." She laughed sitting up and handing Naru the information she had been given. Naru read over it quickly and gave a nod.

"Don't let her get to you, can you call around and see who is available?" he asked to which Mai gave a nod.

Naru Mai got started with phoning around the group, managing to confirm Ayako, Bou, Masako and Yasuhara. John was still in Australia and would be for a few more days but he would join them when he returned.

Mai was almost buzzing; this case was the first for a few months now and she found herself excited to see what would happen… although she couldn't help but feel slightly anxious about things; she had never been the lucky one on these cases but hopefully things would be different this time.

At 9:30 the next morning the gang; consisting of Ayako, Bou, Daichi, Masako, Yasuhara, Luella and Martin, stood outside the mansion either staring up in awe or looking up with an expression of 'seen it' on their faces.

"Thank you all for coming!" Natsuo announced as he ran down the front steps to meet them, Rina walking down the steps behind him.

"This house is amazing" Bou stated before holding out a hand to the man "I'm Hosho Takigawa, this is my Wife Ayako and our son Daichi, over there is Osamu Yasuhara, Masako Hara and finally Luella and Martin Davies."

Natsuo took Bou's hand and smiled towards everyone shaking all their hands in turn.

"It's nice to meet you all I am Natsuo Shimazaki and this is my assistant Yoshizawa Rina, we cannot thank you enough, now you'll follow us we'll show you where we've set up for you." Natsuo announced as he started to lead the

The group started to follow Natsuo and Rina into the house, as Mai went to follow she felt a hand grab her trousers, she looked down and saw Daichi hiding behind her legs staring out across the front garden.

"What's the matter Daichi?" Mai asked bending down to the child's level

"They want to play with me and I don't want to…" Daichi asked pointing across the gardens. Mai frowned and looked out to where the young boy was pointing and saw two small children; a boy and a girl, what struck Mai was the fact that the children were wearing very old fashioned clothes, they stood waving wildly towards Daichi calling "Come and play hide and seek with us!" at this Mai picked up Daichi and stared at the children.

"Mai!" Naru's voice called from the top of the steps as he watched her stare out across the gardens holding Daichi protectively; he walked back down to her.

Mai looked up at the sound of her name before looking back over to where they had seen children only to find them gone.

"What's the matter?" Naru asked reaching her.

"Two children were standing over there wanting Daichi to play with them….but they've vanished." Mai explained to Naru who looked over to where Mai was indicating.

"I see, Daichi I want you to stay away from them ok?" Naru asked the young boy who gave a nod quickly.

Mai placed him down and he started to run up the stairs after his mum and dad, leaving Mai alone with Naru.

"This might have been a bad idea." Naru stated watching Daichi.

"I was just thinking the same thing….This is probably the one time I wish it was me the ghost's were after" Mai muttered, Naru grabbed her hand and turned her towards him.

"Don't say that, we just need to keep someone with Daichi at all times either you or his parents." Naru stated to which Mai gave a nod and they both walked up the stairs.

* * *

There we go! We have a case ^ ^ I hope you think it's ok we struggled to think of a good one that was different…. Thank you all for the reviews!  
Please R&R  
StrawberryFairy and Clippedninja  
x


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors notes:** Hey guys, we're really sorry for the delay we've both been really busy with school as I(Strawberry) have test coming up and I (Clipped) have just started a new school year. We hope you like this chapter and please continue to review!

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Ghost Hunt, only our original characters

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The base room was larger than they had expected, usually they were in a small box room stuffed at the far end of the house but this time they were in the large, grand drawing room situated at the front of the house. Walking around the house so far they could see the was still some renovations in progress, although the drawing room seemed to be finished to perfection; with an exquisite suite, shelves upon shelves of books covered one of the walls around the large bay window, that lead out to the front court yard. The finishing point was the large crystal chandelier that hung elegantly in the centre of the ceiling decorates by a simply detailed, yet beautiful design that fanned across the ceiling.

Bou, Lin and Yasuhara were setting up the monitors along the spare wall while Ayako entertained Daichi who was bubbling with excitement and asking countless times to go and look around; to which Ayako replied he had to wait for daddy to finish. Luella and Martin were currently talking to the owner while Naru was Looking along the book shelves taking in the names of the books, smirking a few times when he realised he had read them.  
Mai sat on the sofa, having been told to do so by Naru, watching as the others worked with a stroke of guilt at not being able to help in any way, thinking this she gave a sigh which managed to catch the others attentions.

"Hey why isn't Mai helping?" Bou asked suddenly as if it had just dawned on him.  
"Yeah, isn't this her job?" Yasuhara asked equally as surprised as Bou. Mai looked around the room nervously to find everyone staring at her waiting for a response. She looked down with a blush.

"Um…well…" she began only to be cut off by Naru who had moved closer to her as he glared at the group.

"Because I told her not to, has anyone got a problem with that?" he asked sharply, glancing momentarily at Lin who looked back at him knowingly.

Everyone looked away quickly and carried on what they had been doing, muttering slightly that they had no problem.

Mai looked after them as they continued and felt another stab of guilt; she quickly looked away and glanced around the room and a thought hid her…who was missing from the room?

"Hey...where'd Madoka?" She asked after a little while which caused Bou to turn and laugh at her.

"Really Mai?" He asked with a laugh as Mai found herself becoming more and more annoyed. "She hasn't been here all day!"

"Well I'm sorry" Mai snapped standing up from the chair. Everyone stopped and looked up at this and watched as Mai walked to the door and left merely stating she was getting tea.

The remaining occupants looked at each other in confusion while Lin, Masako and Naru gave each other a knowing look.

"Back to work, I don't pay you to hang around staring into space." Naru stated after a sigh as he walked over the desk, deciding that for now it was best to let Mai be alone for a little while until she calmed down.

Mai stormed down the hallway angrily as she thought over what had happened; having done so she stopped suddenly. Why had she gotten so angry? Bou was merely being Bou and yet she had snapped at him in such a manner...

Looking down at her stomach she placed a hand softly onto it and sighed. "Is this going to be a regular thing now?" she said softly.

The sound of children's laughter filled the hallway causing Mai to freeze and slowly turn to look behind her. Her eyes widened as she saw 2 faces peering around the corner to her, they were familiar faces; of a boy and a girl both looking between the ages of 10 and 12. They were giggling as they watched Mai but not in a sinister way, but a typical childish giggle when they were excited about something.

"Hi, I'm Mai who are you?" Mai asked having recovered from the sight as she took a step towards the children. They looked at each other and grinned before turning and running down the corridor away from Mai, laughing the whole way. "Wait!" Mai yelled as she followed.

Running along the long corridor, Mai was being exceptionally careful not to trip over anything as she kept her sights on the two children who remained a good distance ahead of her. She has realised that they were trying to show her something, otherwise they probably would have disappeared and that knowledge alone kept her running after them, even though she could feel herself getting tired.

She continued to follow them until she found herself exiting a set of grand doors that lead out onto the vast area that was in fact the grounds of the house. Running carefully down the wide stone steps she continued across the freshly cut, green grass towards what looked like a round wall of green that seemed to go on for miles in both directions.

Stopping close to it she realised it was in fact a maze and after hesitating for a moment she walked into the maze, looking around as she was faced with another wall of green, a pathway leading both left and right. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of laughter, she wasn't disappointed as a few moments later she heard laughter coming from her left. Opening her eyes she ran down the left pathway until she caught sight of the girls grey dress as it swept around the corner.

After following the children trough the twists and turns the Maze sent her down she finally came to a halt when she saw the children standing at the end of the path, watching Mai with smiles on their faces.

"Why are we here?" Mai asked as she tried to catch her breath.

"The game has finished for today," The little boy said after a moment, much to Mai's surprise.

"It's time for the players to go home now, please tell her mummy that we are sorry we kept her away for so long and that we made sure she had fun" The girl added as she grabbed the boys hand and together they skipped past Mai and back the way they had come, but by the time Mai had looked back they were gone. Frowning slightly she tried to take in their words. A look of realization came to her and she continued the way she had been going.

She found herself in the centre of the maze where a little water fountain sat in the middle of a neatly planted garden. In the corner was a small lover's seat, covered by a wooden canopy, on the seat was a small figure and staring at it Mai walked towards it. Walking closer she saw it was a little girl and her eyes widened before she ran over to the little girl.

"Eri...it's time to wake up." She said shaking the little girls shoulder as she knelt in front of her. After a few moments the little girl stirred and sat up rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Hey sweetie, you must be Eri."

"Who are you?" the little girl asked before looking around. "Where am I?"

"I'm Mai and your all right, let's get you back to your mummy and grandpa they have been worried about you." Mai stated holding out her arms for the little girl to climb into, which after some hesitation she did. Standing up Mai turned to walk back the way she had come, only to instantly remember she was in a maze and had completely no idea the way she had come.

"Mai...are we lost?" Eri asked nervously which only added to Mai's sudden panic, why hadn't she taken more notice of the way she had come.

"Mai!" a voice called from close by and Mai felt like all her prayers had been answered at once.

"Over here!" She replied and moments later Naru and Lin entered the centre of the maze closely followed by Bou who was feeding a roll of string behind them as a trail.

"Why did you run off like that?" Naru asked anger showing in his voice along with concern.

"How did you know where I was?" Mai asked curiously as no one had seen her take off.

"Lin saw you on one of the screens you seemed to be following something." Naru replied to which Mai gave a nod.

"The two ghost children from before...they led me here and I found Eri sleeping on the bench overt there." Mai replied nodding to the lover's seat.

It was then that Naru noticed the little girl in Mai's arms and his gaze softened when he saw the scared look in her eye.

"Hello Eri, we heard you had gone missed where have you been?" Naru asked gently but also bluntly enough to cause Mai to sigh.

"I was playing with my friends we had a great time, I wish the day didn't go so fast." Eri replied happily only to sulk slightly.

"I see, Eri you are aware you have been missing for almost a week right?" Naru pressured as everyone sent glances to each.

"Nuh-uh we only started playing this morning!" Eri replied shaking her head vigorously.

"I thought so." Naru said with a sigh before turning to Lin and whispering to him "The ghosts seem to have blocked her memories somehow." Lin gave a nod at this as Naru turned back to Eri and lowered himself to her level in Mai's arms.

"Eri, I want you to look at me and nowhere else and think about what you did with your friends today ok?" He asked Eri who apprehensively gave a nod which Naru returned with a small smile.

Placing a hand on the little girls head he stared at her. Everything went fine for the first few minutes Eri kept smiling at the memories...however everything changed suddenly.

Eri's face turned paler and her eyes widened before she suddenly burst into to tears, screaming and crying as she struggled in Mai's arms; who tried desperately to hold onto the girl only to let go suddenly when a elbow hit her rib cage and she hissed rubbing the now throbbing spot while Naru caught the girl before handing her over to Lin who calmed her instantly by pressing a finger on her neck.

"What was that about?" Mai asked still rubbing her ribcage as she looked over at the now unconscious child.

"All her memories of the last week came back at once" Naru explained simply with a sigh. "And apparently Eri hasn't had as fun a time as she thought she did."

"No duh." Bou said looking at the girl painfully almost as if he was imagining Daichi in that position.

Following the string out of the maze they walked back across the grass towards the house, Mai glanced up at her fiancé as they walked out the maze, a though going through her mind.

"Hey Naru...how did you find the right way through the maze?" She asked him and watched him smirk.

"Anyone with a brain would have looked at the map of the grounds before running off into them, which is why we are coming back with one less person than we left with, but don't worry I'm sure Yasuhara will find his way out eventually." He explained when Mai looked up at him in annoyance only to laugh nervously at the thought of Yasu wondering around the maze for days, almost hearing him yell

"SAVE ME~~~~~"

"Eri!" the cry caught everyone's attention as a lady ran down the stairs over to the group as they neared them, a group of people following close behind including Natsuo Shimazaki and Rina Yoshizawa. The lady scooped Eri up from Lin's hold and held her tightly to her

"Thank you, thank you so much for finding my daughter!" The lady said tearfully as she bowed to the group as she held Eri.

"This is Yuriko, my daughter and Eri's mother; we can't thank you enough for everything." Natsuo explained also bowing.

"It's not over yet, there is something going on here that these young spirits are trying to fix." Naru explained to which Natsuo, Yuriko and Rina looked at him in confusion. It was then that Eri woke up and instantly started crying again.

"Eri, baby what's wrong?" Yuriko asked worriedly, noticing she was in her mothers arms Eri held onto her tightly sobbing "mummy" over and over. "What happened to her?" Yuriko asked the group who looked away uncertain.

"We are as yet unsure, we only know that the children lead Mai to Eri." Naru explained pointing to Mai who stepping forwards giving a nod.

"Do you mean to say that these children are to blame for this?" Rina asked suddenly in a cold, stern voice which caused Mai to jump and look up at her.

"No I don't." Mai replied after a moment which caused Naru to look at his fiancé curiously.

"Why is that Mai, did you sense something?" He asked to which she gave a slow nod.

"I don't know why but...I just feel that they aren't to blame here...and that they are somehow helping." She explained.

"I don't care WHAT they are doing, I don't want them in my-this house a moment longer, come on Yuriko." Rina replied harshly as she walked away leading Yuriko after her who was carrying a still crying Eri.

"Please excuse Rina, she doesn't mean to be so...brutal...Please excuse me" Natsuo said softly as he watched after the three. Mai also watched them but suddenly looked back over towards the maze as she felt something. She gave a sigh and followed the others back inside.

* * *

There we go ^ ^ another chapter finished! Thank you for reading and we hope you enjoyed ^ ^  
Please R&R and we'll see you next chapter  
StrawberryFairy & Clipped Ninja  
x


	5. Chapter 5

*sneaks in and posts before being pelted by rotten fruit*

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ghost hunt, I only own my own characters and thoughts and dreams

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Mai looked around to find herself in a dark void, she smiled to herself when she realised how calm she was whereas a few years ago she would have been panicking about what was going on. She had grown to love this place as it was the home to one of her fondest friends and soon to be brother-in law.

"Hey Gene" She said softly and heard a chuckle from behind her.

"What gave it away?" he asked in a sarcastic voice.

"My amazing sensing skills and the fact this has been going on for a long time." She replied equally as sarcastic, though it did cause him to laugh.

"You've been hanging around my brother too much Mai, his narcissist ways are beginning to show." He smiled at her. She returned it before watching him look down and reach out a hand, touching it gently on her stomach. "I believe congratulations are in order."

She looked up at him and smiled softly at him. "Thank you, I hope he or she gets to meet their amazing uncle." She watched him blush and laughed softly. "Did you have something to show me or was this just a nice little visit?"

His face fell slightly and she knew the answer and let out a sigh to which he smiled apologetically at her.

"Let's just get it over with…"she said to which he gave a nod and held out a hand for her which she took.

The surrounding area zoomed away and she felt herself grow nauseous as she grabbed hold of Gene's shirt and closed her eyes. When it stopped she looked up at him and saw him watching her, looking concerned.

"Gene….please don't do that again" she said weakly to which he frowned before a look of understanding came to him.

"Sorry." He said softly before looking up as a figure moved. It was then Mai looked up and recognised the surroundings as the gardens of the house. She vaguely thought to herself how well they had redone the gardens now, it was almost identical. Shaking these thoughts away for the moment she watched the scene.

A small girl was hiding behind a bush, laughing to herself as she looked over it before moving back squealing.

"Found you Mina!" another voice said as a young boy jumped around the tree causing the girl to cry in disappointment.

"Kyou you cheated!" Mina pouted to which Kyou laughed, Mai noted that he seemed to be older than Mina.

"No you're just bad at hiding, now stay there and count to 50 and no peaking!" he told her before running away to hide. Mina pouted again before turning to count.

Mai smiled at the childish games before a movement caught her eye and she looked over to see a man walking towards the girl his arms behind his back.

She noticed him say something to her and yet it seemed that the sound had been muted. She frowned and looked up at Gene who seemed to be frowning as well but he continued to watch.

"Why can't we hear them?" She asked him to which he shook his head as if to say he had no idea.

"Just keep watching Mai." He told her, which she did.

The man was starting to walk away and Mina waved goodbye happily and went back to counting. It was then Mai gasped as she noticed the man walk back up to the young girl and wrap a hand around her face a piece of cloth in his hand, Mina started to struggle but the man kept his hold on the girl.

"Gene!" She gasped tugging his sleeve as he watched the girl collapse into his arms. "Mina!"

"Mai this happened a long time ago, there is nothing we can do about it." Gene told her sadly as he watched the scene, Mai looked back and managed to get a look at the man who was holding the girl as he walked across the grass away from the house. It was then the scene went black and she found herself staring at the place the man had been.

"It's time to wake up Mai." Gene's voice called to her as she found herself disappearing from the void.

Mai opened her eyes and came face to face with her still sleeping fiance which brought a soft smile to her face. Sitting up she looked at the clock that was on Narus side of the bed, she knew it had to be early for Naru to still be asleep and the time the clock displayed didn't let her down as it read 6:45.  
"Naru must have had a late night" she thought, reflecting on the fact he hadn't gone to bed when she had and the fact he was still asleep.  
Leaning over she gave him a kiss on the check and began to move away only for Naru to stop her by holding onto her wrist. She jumped and turned to look at him where she saw him looking up at her, she smiled at him lying down again so she was resting against him.  
"Good Morning," Mai said softly and was greated by him wrapping his arms around her waist resting his hands on her stomach.  
"Morning" he replied equally as softly his eyes closed and he let out a sigh.  
"What time did you turn in last night?" she asked in concern as she watched him struggle to stay awake.  
"Late" Naru replied simply and she just smiled before closing her eyes as well and cuddled into him.  
What seemed like moments later a beeping sound echoed throughout the room, making them jump as they both looked over to the clock that now read 7:30 and they soon realised they had fallen asleep again. Sighing Mai got up and walked over to the bathroom as Naru sat up and turned off the alarm, before placing his head in his hands.

"Naru if you're still tired you can go back to sleep and I'll tell the others that you had a late night." Mai's voice said softly and he looked up to see her standing in front of him wearing a skirt and a sweater.

"No It's fine, If I don't turn up they will just give me grief later." He sighed as he stood up and walked over to the bathroom. Mai laughed softly at this following him towards the bathroom where she stood at the door, hearing the water running.

"You and your pride, I wish you'd care a little less about it." Mai smiled leaning against the door. "After all I would like our child to have a father that wasn't dead on the floor due to work."  
The door opened at this, causing her to go backwards as a result, only to be caught by Naru who stood over her.

"And I would like our child to have a mother who wasn't so accident prone, but not all of us get what we want do we?" he said with a smirk as Mai glared up at him, only for him to smile softly and lean down and kiss her on the lips, silencing any retort she was about to throw at him leaving her only surprised.

Breaking away he smiled down at her which caused her to blush, "Don't worry I'll start taking better care of myself."

"I would reply and say I'll try to be less clumsy but we all know that's just asking for it." Mai replied which made him laugh, which in turn made her smile.

Arriving at the base they found only Lin and Masako inside, both of whom looked up when they entered the room.

"Good Morning." Mai said brightly to the occupants who smiled at her and replied, happy with this response Mai went and sat down next to Masako on the sofa.  
"Has anything happened since last night?" Naru asked walking over to Lin, who was (as usual) at the computer screens keeping vigilance over the entire house; both visually and audibly.

"No it's been quiet everything seems to be fine." Lin replied as Naru leaned over and looked over the readings of the past few hours. "I thought I told you to sleep."  
"I did" Naru replied simply to which Lin sighed.

"3 and a half hours is not sleep Naru." He stated only be ignored.

"I told him to go back to sleep, but he was having none of it." Mai added to which Lin sighed again, knowing if Mai couldn't convince him no one else stood a chance.

"I'm fine, When are John and Madoka arriving?" Naru asked, easily changing the conversation.

"They are on their way from the airport now." Lin replied, ignoring the fact he had purposefully changed the subject.

A commotion was heard approaching the room before the doors opened and Bou, Ayako and Daichi entered the room.

"I can't believe you forgot to pack my make up bag!" Ayako yelled at Bou who just gave an annoyed sigh.

"Look woman, it was your stuff why, am I being blamed when you packed your own damn luggage" he replied.

As they entered the room Daichi ran straight over to Mai and sat on her lap as he watched his parents fight, finding it extremely amusing. Mai and Masako found they too couldn't help but smile at the couple as they argued over nonsense.

"Hey you two." Mai called gaining their attention. "Do you have to be so loud so early in the morning?"

"I wouldn't be so loud if someone here had remembered my makeup bag!" Ayako yelled at Bou who growled.

"For god's sake you don't need any make up Ayako, you're beautiful without it!" Bou shouted only to realise what he said and blushed, as did Ayako and that was the end of the argument.

"Nice one Bou-san~ that will earn you some brownie points later I'm sure." Yasuhara said as he entered the room clapping his hands.

"Shut up you little nerd." Bou muttered embarrassed, to which everyone, excluding Lin and Naru, laughed at.

"Well it seems rather chipper in here today." A familiar accented voice said from the door way and they all looked up to see John and Madoka enter the room. "G'day mates"

"John, Madoka!" Mai said standing up from the sofa and running over to give them each a hug.

"This is a place of work, not for you all to mess around, so all of you get to work." Naru's cold voice echoed in the room causing them all to stop, sigh and get to work.

"Come on Naru, It's still early and they just got here, let's all have some tea." Mai said to which Naru gave a sigh but said nothing in response which caused Mai to smile. "John would you come and help me?"

"Sure thing." John replied and followed her out the base and towards the kitchen.

"I hear you've been keeping something from everyone Mai." John said suddenly as they walked, causing Mai to look up and see the Australian with a smile on his face.  
"H-how do you know that?" Mai stuttered.  
"Madoka likes to gossip." John stated with a laugh. "However she didn't fill me in on all the details so what, if you don't mind my asking, is the big secret?"  
They had reached the kitchen and Mai gave a sigh, before she began sorting out the tea.

"I really wanted to tell everyone at Christmas, but everything sort of blew up…But actually Naru and I are going to be parents; I'm pregnant." She said softly, a warm smile on her face.

"Congratulations!" John exclaimed. "I wondered how long it would be until you guys settled down."

"Not everyone knows yet so could you keep it quiet…I'd rather they heard from me and Naru." Mai asked, placing the cups of tea and cup of milk onto 2 trays.

"Sure, no problem I'm very happy for you both." He replied as he took a tray from the counter and they started to head back towards the Base.

That was until Mai stopped.  
Something didn't feel right, looking around she knew she could sense something, and then she heard it. The sound of a child laughing and she recognised it instantly and her first thought went to Daichi but she knew he was safe with his parents and that left only Eri.

"Is something wrong Mai?" John asked looking back to her, concerned as to why she had suddenly stopped.

"I don't know," she said placing the cups of tea on a table nearby. "John can you go back to the base and ask Naru to look at the camera in Eri's room.  
"Sure but…" John started only to be cut off by Mai yelling "Thanks" and running down a corridor. "That girl never changes."  
Mai followed the sound of laughter right to Eri's door, which she slowly opened and looked inside only for her eyes to widen when she saw Eri sitting on the floor playing with the ghost's young boy and girl, Mai knew for sure then that they were harmless as they were smiling and laughing as they played.

"Good morning Eri, wow you guys are having fun," Mai said entering the room which caused the playing to stop instantly and all three children looked at her which made her smile as she walked over to two ghosts. "I'm sorry it took me so long to find out your names, Kyou and Mina."

Hearing their names both children smiled widely at Mai before they laughed again.  
"We know your name to Mai! We were watching when you helped Eri find her mummy." Mina stated to which Kyou nudged her in the side.

"Mina you're not supposed to tell her!" he whispered loudly into her ear which made Mai smile.

"It's all right, we're here to help you so please feel free to tell us anything." She said.

"Mai what are you doing here?" Eri asked suddenly and Mai turned to face her.

"I heard laughing and I wanted to see if everything was ok." Mai smiled at the little girl who smiled back.

"It's great, Mina and Kyou are really nice and very fun to play with." Eri said which made Mina and Kyou smile at her before they looked away sadly.

"You're trying to make her happy so she doesn't remember, aren't you." Mai said softly as she noticed their expressions. To this they both looked up at her in shock before they looked away in surprise.

"We just don't want to see her get hurt or anyone else." Kyou stated sadly.

"I know and you both are very brave for that, but in this case maybe Eri needs to remember something so that we can help stop it from happening again?" Mai replied which made Eri look at Mai in confusion.

"Mai is right Kyou, I don't want him to hurt anyone anymore." Mina said as she began to cry.

"Him?" Mai asked before her eyes widened. "Is he the man that kidnapped you?"

Both Ghosts looked at her in alarm before they ran out the room, with Mai behind them.

"Wait!" she called but by the time she had left the room they had vanished.

"They went away…"Eri said sadly from in her room.

"I think they had to go home for a little while but I'm sure you will see them again." Mai said softly as she walked back over to the little girl and lead her out of the room. "Come on lets go to the others, I'll introduce you to Daichi."

Leading Eri back towards the base, she picked up the tray of teas on the way and they entered the room together.

"Mai where have you been?" Naru asked in concern as he walked over to her.

"Didn't John ask you to check the monitor?" Mai asked in confusion as she placed the tray on the desk.

"Yes, I take it you saw the Ghosts again and I also take it you had a dream last night." He replied.

"I meant to tell you, but after this morning I forgot." She said blushing at the memory before she went on to tell him everything she saw the night before.

The room went silent after that and all the attention in the room seemed to be fixed on either Daichi, Eri and in Naru's case; Mai.

"Yasuhara, Madoka find out any information on this house involving the kidnapping of children by the names of Mina and Kyou, from what we've seen they will be at least 50 years ago and then I want you to find any similar occurrences from that point on." Naru ordered to which they both gave a nod and left the room.

"Masako, you and John take readings from the room and see if you can sense anything."

Like before Masako and John gave a nod before they also left.

"Bou and Ayako please go and check the grounds, Daichi and Eri will stay here with myself, Lin and Mai as it will be the safest place at the moment."

The couple gave a relunctant nod and left the room after saying goodbye to their son who waved as they left.

"And now we wait." Mai stated as everyone left.

"Yes, and now we wait." Naru echoed before he went back over to Lin.

* * *

I am sooooooo sorry it's taken me this long to update you must all hate my guts –hides in corner of shame- a few things happened over the last few months, but the main one is that I lost my partner T_T she has vanished; infact I'm thinking of putting up a reward poster for anyone who can find her for me!

I also went back to school this year – yes BACK to school ^ ^ I'm studying for my A Levels so I can go to University . better late than never, but that has taken up all of my time. I'm really sorry…Not to mention I got stuck on what to write.

Anyway I'm really, really sorry for the delay and so I'm giving you an extra long chapter filled with nothing but fluff, info and GENE! Hehehe kindness~

I'm not sure when the next update will be, but please believe I will write this even if it takes 50 years! Or….wishing my life away…But you guys are worth it ^ ^

See you next chapter


End file.
